Shrapnel packaging



March 27,1962 P. w. ADLER 3,026,804

SHRAPNEL PACKAGING Filed Dec. 28,- 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet l PAUL W ADLER,

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEK March 27, 1962 P. w. ADLER SHRAPNEL PACKAGING 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 28, 1959 PAUL 14 ADLER,

lNl/EN TOR.

ATTORNEK M rc 27, 1952 P. w. ADLER 3,026,804

SHRAPNEL PACKAGING Filed Dec. 28, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 #3 Jada PAUL W.ADL

INVENTO ATTO EK United States Patent 3,026,804 SHRAPNEL PACKAGING Paul W. Adler, Burbank, Califi, assignor to B. H. Hadley, Claremont, Calif. Filed Dec. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 862,101 6 Claims. (Cl. 102-67) The invention relates to packaging shrapnel in the form of metal cubes of magnetic material such as iron having a dimension such as inch on each side. The invention is an improvement on the packaging described and claimed in application S.N. 820,270 filed June 15, 1959, for Packaging Rectangular Objects and Embedding Them in a Matrix.

Application S.N. 820,270 describes and claims a machine whereby the shrapnel elements are packaged in the space between spaced walls by feeding the elements to the container and by oscillating the container through an angle less than 180 and at greater speeds in one direction than in the reverse direction, with rapid reversal of direction of motion around the axis. During the oscillations the container is also vibrated or jogged in a vertical direction.

While the prior arrangement results in a geometric array of the elements, it has been found that due to some loose space between the elements which is provided to admit a matrix in which the elements are embedded, the array in one container may not be exactly the same as the array in other containers. A uniform array is desired to obtain a uniform pattern on blasting the container.

An object of the present invention is to provide a more uniform array of the packaged elements. This is accomplished by providing a container having concentric walls spaced apart a distance proportional to the thickness of the cube, for one or more layers, and by providing the bottom of the container with a pocket, two adjacent sides of a cubic element fitting in the pocket with two other of its sides exposed and each serving as an abutmentor support for a side of another cube. In one form of the invention, the pocket is in the form of a helical incline or ramp having a Width substantially the same as the length of one side of the cubic element and having a pitch equal to the height of a cube, the incline having one turn arising from the bottom of the container and terminating in an inclined upright stop wall serving as an abutment facing in a direction around the axis, the act of dropping a quantity of the cubic elements in the top of the container, with some oscillating and upright jogging acting to align the cubic elements in a spiral array, the oscillation being at a greater speed in the direction in which the stop wall faces than in the opposite direction which uniformly compacts the spiral array of elements.

In a second form of the invention, the bottom of the container is provided with a spacer having a circular array of depressions in which the cubic elements fit in tilted position with corner edges uppermost, and lowermost, The sides of the depression extend preferably at angles of 45 to a plane through the axis of the container, the depressions being spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the diagonal distance across a face of the cube, whereby each element in the bottom row is definitely located with respect to the container and whereby the bottom row and successive rows of elements act as spacers to form similar depressions or angular spaces in which the remaining cubic elements fit. The elements thus form a definite pattern in all directions, i.e., above one another parallel to the axis of the container, laterally of each other transversely to the axis, and spirally in opposite directions.

3,026,804 Patented Mar. 27, 1962 According to a further feature in a second form of the invention the top row of elements may be held in place and the whole stock of elements compressed compactly together by means of a top spacer ring having depressions similar to the depressions at the bottom of the container referred to above. In this case, it appears that it will be unnecessary to embed the elements in a matrix.

According to a further feature of the invention, the matrix may be used, with or without a top retainer ring.

According to a further feature of the invention, magnetic means are provided for holding a stack of the elements on one of the walls of the container, while permitting removal of the other wall employed during the filling operation, means being provided for applying a final wall to the outside of the stack.

A further advantage of the present invention is that the cubic elements fall into position in the container to form a fixed geometric pattern with substantially less effort for the oscillation around the axis and with less jogging along the axis than heretofore. In both forms of the invention this oscillation and jogging can be accomplished by hand instead of by the machine.

For further details of the invention reference may be made to the drawings wherein- FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a machine il1ustrating the method of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view on line 2-2 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view on line 3-3 of FIG. 1, in the direction indicated.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged lower detail of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one of the shrapnel elements.

FIG. 6 is a partial vertical sectional view corresponding somewhat to FIG. 3 and illustrating the process of admitting the matrix.

FIG. 7 is a detail of the upper portion of the container of FIG. 6, illustrating the final stage after the matrix process.

FIG. 8 is a plane view and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the lower notched ring for a single layer of elements.

FIG. 10 is a plane view corresponding to FIG. 8 for two layers of elements.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a magnetic insert employed to hold a stock of the elements on the outside of the blasting chamber while removing a sleeve which forms a temporary wall during the filling process, the stack later having the permanent wall appearing in FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 12 is a view in elevation of a modification employing an upper notched ring similar to the lower ring whereby it is unnecessary to embed the elements in a matrix.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view on line 13-13 of FIG. 12 looking in the direction indicated.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view on line 14-14 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 15 is a vertical cross sectional view with parts shown in elevation of a second form of the invention.

FIG. 16 is a horizontal sectional view on line 16-16 of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the ramp or ring of FIGS. 15 and 16.

As described and claimed in application S.N. 820,270 referred to above, the container is vibrated vertically at a very high frequency such as 3600 vibrations per minute (there being 60 pulses per second due to half wave rectification of a 60 cycle A.C. supply for the vibrating magnet), while the container is oscillated or vibrated through a small are, less than 180 around the vertical axis at a very much lower frequency such as to vibrations per minute. The elements are embedded in a matrix by admitting fluid matrix material to the bottom of the container while evacuating the top of the conainer and while subjecting the container to the same combination of high frequency vertical and lower frequency oscillator vibrations around the axis as employed for the packaging.

An example of matrix material which may be employed is the liquid plastic epoxy and hardener, with or without heat. The plastic is applied in liquid form and flows around all sides of each shrapnel element. Due to the presence of the hardener, with or without heat, the shrapnel elements thus coated or embedded, form a rigid body as the liquid matrix material hardens and becomes solid.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the feed device is illustrated at 1 in FIG. 1. As described in S.N. 820,270, the shrapnel elements may be fed automatically by machines available on the market such as the Syntron Vibratory Electric Motor.

The container 2 has an outer cylindrical wall 3, see FIGS. 1 and 3 and an inner cylindrical wall 4, providing there between a hollow space 5 of uniform thickness slightly wider in a radial direction than the quantity NS, where N is an integer, being unity in the case of a single layer of elements indicated at 7, as shown, although multilayers may be used, S being the length of one edge of the cubic element 7.

The wall 4 is the outside wall of a hollow container 8 which is filled with the blasting charge.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the wall 4 of container 8 at its lower end 9 seats as indicated at 10 on the top of flange 11 of a sleeve 12. Near its lower end, wall 4 has a screw thread 13 for a nut 14 which is removably clamped to the flange 11 by brackets 15 which overhang the nut as indicated at 16 and are secured to the flange 11 by screws like 17.

Sleeve 12, as shown in FIG. 1, with the container 2 is jogged or vibrated on the vertical axis 18 of the container and is oscillated about that axis. Oscillation of the container 2 and sleeve 12 about a vertical axis is obtained by means of an oscillating connecting rod 20 having a hinge connection 21 on a horizontal axis with the sleeve 12, its outer end having a fork 22 in which rides a cam roller 23 mounted on a rotating table 24 driven through a gear reduction 25 by a motor 26.

As above stated, the rate of oscillation about a vertical axis is of the order of 100 to 150 per minute. Lower or higher vibrations may be used, providing that they are much lower than the rate of vertical vibration. The speed of motor 26 may be varied by a rheostat not shown.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, inside of sleeve 12 is arranged a vertical post or shaft 27 having spaced bearings 28 and 29 which support the sleeve 12 for its oscillation above described. The lower bearing 29 abuts a shoulder 30 on the shaft 27, while the upper bearing 28 is removably held by a nut 31 and lock nut 32 on the threaded upper end 33 of shaft 27. Shaft 27 at its lower end has an enlarged base 34, see FIG. 1, which is fastened by bolts like 35 to a base plate 36. The base plate 36 is cushioned or snubbed in its downward motion by rubber cushions like 37 mounted between plate 36 and the frame 38 of the machine. Fastened to the plate 36 by means of a bracket 39 is the armature 40 of the magnet 41. Armature 40 is carried by bolts like 42, 43 each having a slidable support 44 in the magnet base 45. Each bolt has a cushion spring like 46 and 47 at opposite sides of base and arranged respectively between the base and the stops 48, 49. Each such stop as shown, may be in the form of a nut, lock nut and washer.

The magnet 41 and armature 40 drive shaft 27 and sleeve 12 and its container 2 at a high speed such as 3600 vibrations per minute.

Referring to FIG. 2, assuming that table 24 is rotating in a counter clockwise direction as shown by arrow 50,

as the longitudinal axis 51 of fork 22 reaches its maximum throw at a point indicated at 52 in one direction and at 53 in the opposite direction taking the angle between points 52 and 53 to axis 18 as being 30 as indicated, sleeve 12 will move counter clockwise at a relatively low speed while roller 23 is travelling from point 52 and at a higher speed while roller 23 is travelling from point 52 to point 53. Travel from point 52 to point 53 at the higher speed turns sleeve 12 in a clockwise direction which is the direction in which the stop shoulder of the second form of invention faces.

Referring now to the first form of the invention, the bottom of the container 2, in the space 5 between walls 3 and 4, is provided with a spacer in the form of a ring 60, see FIGS. 3 to 12. Ring 60 on its upper surface has an annular array of upwardly opening pockets like 61, each having walls like 62 and 63 arranged at to each other, each such wall having a size substantially the same as a side of the cubic element 7, whereby the cubic elements 7 drop into the pockets like 61 in the ring and fit together in a geometric array as shown in FIG. 13. The cubic elements 7 fit in the pockets like 61 in tilted position v with corner edges uppermost and lowermost, each of the pockets having oppositely inclined sides or walls 62, 63 extending at angles of substantially 45 to a plane through the axis 18 of the container 2. The walls 62 or 63 face around the axis of the container, as well as upwardly and serve as abutments and supports for the element 7 during the oscillating and jogging. As each pocket like 61 embraces only two adjacent faces of the cube, the upper two similar faces of the cube form similar abutments and supports and laterally adjacent elements 7 form similar pockets into which other elements like 7 fit. For example, initially when there are only a few elements like 7 in the container, laterally adjacent elements like 7 and 57 in FIG. 12 form a pocket between their faces 58, 59 which is similar to the pocket 61 and in which another element like 55 fits. This action is repeated as the elements 7 are fed into the container until it is full.

Ring 60 may be a separate ring, held in position by the weight of element 7, resting on the flange 64 at the lower end of container 8, or ring 60 may be integral with flange 64.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, ring 60 may have a series of ports as indicated at 65 and flange 64 may have a cooperating port 66 to admit fluid matrix at inlet 67 while the top of the container is connected to a source of vacuum indicated at 68.

The oscillating and jogging may take place While the matrix is being fed to the container. The matrix which flows around all sides of the elements may be an epoxy resin later hardened with chemical or heat.

As shown in FIG. 12, without using a matrix, the elements 7 when the container is filled with them, may be held in position by an inverted spacer ring 70 having downwardly facing pockets 71, each like pocket 61 and in each of which two faces of an element fit. Spacer ring 70 is held in position by a lock nut 72 see FIG. 13, having threaded engagement 73 with the top of container 8.

As shown in FIG. 4, (d) is the length of a diagonal across the face of the cubic element 7, and (d) is the distance from center to center of two adjacent pockets like 61. To provide some space for the matrix between adjacent faces of the elements indicated at 74, (d) is greater than (d), although if no matrix is used, (d) may be substantially equal to (d).

Referring to FIG. 3, the wall 3 may be a temporary wall, used only for filling the container and having a flared top 75 serving as a funnel. After the space 5 is filled with the elements 7 the wall 3 is removed as indicated in FIG. 11, and during this time the stack 6 of elements 7 is held in position against the non-magnetic wall 4 of aluminum or other material by means of an electro-magnet 76 inside of container 8. Thereafter, the permanent wall 77 see FIG. 13 is slipped into position over the stack 6, its bottom edge of 78 is bent to form a flange 79 which underhangs flange 64 and the lock nut 72 holds the top of wall 77 and ring 70 in position. Or, the inner wall may be the temporary wall, a magnetic coil around the container holding elements in position on the inside of a permanent outer wall.

Another form of the invention shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, the pocket 30 is in the form of a ring or ramp which fits in the space 81 between the inner and outer walls 82 and 83, the ring 80 resting on the flange 84 as previously described, or it may be integral therewith. Ring 80 has a series of ports like the ones indicated at 85 to admit fluid matrix from the inlet 86 as previously described.

One side of the pocket or spacer formed by the ring 80 is constituted by the upwardly facing helical ramp portion 87 which has a width substantially the same as or slightly greater than the width of one of the cubic elements 88, such width of 87 being a multiple of the width of 83 depending upon the number of layers of elements 88, as previously described. The ramp 87 makes slightly less than one helical turn around the axis 89 of the container 90, the ramp 87 having a pitch equal to the height of a cube 88. The ramp 87 starts at point 91, see FIG. 16 at the bottom of space 81, and terminates in an inclined upright stop wall 92 which is at right angles to the adjoining portion 93 of the ramp 87, the portions 92 and 93 being at right angles to each other and of the same size as the adjoining sides of the cubic element 88. The cubic element 88 thus fits in the open pocket provided by the portions 92 and 93. The stop wall 92 faces in a clockwise direction around the axis of the container, and as previously described, the container 90 is operated by the oscillating and jogging apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2 and is driven at a higher speed in the direction in which the stop Wall or shoulder 92 faces as shown by arrow 96 than in the opposite direction shown by arrow 97. As this action takes place while the elements 88 are being fed into the space 81, such oscillating action serves to not only cause the elements 88 to be stacked in a helix as shown in FIG. 14, but also the differential speed oscillation serves to take up the slack between adjoining elements in that helix, the absence of slack being shown at the rear meeting edges between the elements 88 as indicated at 94 in FIG. 15. As the elements 88 are arranged in a helix, there will be some open spaces indicated at 95 between the adjacent wall edges of the elements. Such open spaces are filled by the matrix, and due to the vertical jogging, such matrix may also enter between the adjacent turns of the helix.

FIG. 13 shows one form of finished article wherein the cubic elements 7 have been embedded in a hardenable matrix, the permanent outer wall 77 being provided in connection with the inner wall 4. To insure that the stack 6 of cubic elements indicated at 7 uniformly lie on their outer faces against the inner surface of the permanent wall 77, after the fluid matrix has been injected into the space between the walls 4 and 77 to embed the cubic elements therein and before such fluid matrix hardens due to chemical action, heat or both, as shown in FIG, 11

the container is suitably mounted by brackets indicated at 98 on a rotary table 99 which is rotated at high speed, about the axis of the container, for example by the V belt 100 whereby the cubic elements are projected by centrifugal action through the fluid matrix material to uniformly abut against the inner surface of wall 77 throughout the hardening action.

Various modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit of the following claims. For example, while a cylindrical form of container has been illustrated, containers in the form of other types of surfaces of revolution may be used viz. cone and sphere, the ring in FIG. 17 acting to form a spiral wrap of the elements and such wrap may be applied to surfaces other than the cylindrical surfaces shown.

I claim:

I. A container for cubic elements, said container comprising concentric inner and outer walls providing a space having a thickness which is proportional to the length of the edge of the elements, the bottom of said space in said container having a pocket having sides spaced substantially apart, two adjacent sides of a cubic element fitting in the pocket.

2. A container according to claim 1, said pocket having oppositely inclined sides extending at angles of substantially 45 to a plane through the axis of the container.

3. A container according to claim 2, the bottom of said container having a plurality of said pockets spaced apart a distance of the order of the diagonal distance across a face of the element.

4. A container according to claim 2, said pocket having matrix ports.

5. A container according to claim 2 in combination with a similar pocket between said walls at the top of said space and in position to retain the top of a stack of said elements in position.

6. A container according to claim 1, said pocket being in the form of a helical ramp having a width proportional to the length of one side of the cubic element and having a pitch equal to the height of the cubic element, said ramp having substantially one helical turn arising from the bottom of the container and terminating in an upright stop wall substantially the height of a cubic element, said stop wall arising from the start of said turn at the bottom of said container, said stop Wall and the adjoining start of said turn being spaced apart substantially 90.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 733,256 Emery Mar. 24, 1903 735,658 Dunn Aug. 4, 1903 2,401,483 Hensel et al June 4, 1946 2,615,562 Rothbardt Oct. 28, 1952 2,810,243 Mellowes Oct. 22, 1957 2,869,719 Hubbard Jan. 20, 1959 2,871,637 Hjelm et a1 Feb. 3, 1959 

